Penn State’s own Berkey Creamery turned 150 years old last week! That’s right, it’s been a century and a half since the Creamery began churning butter in a little barn behind Old Main. It’s come a long way since then, dishing out hundreds of thousands of ice cream cones to students and former Presidents alike.

To celebrate this momentous occasion, the Creamery decided to create another flavor. This anniversary flavor, however, will not be decided by the good folks over in the Erickson Food Science Building. No, this new flavor will be determined by you! Yup, the Creamery is turning to social media to have the public decide which newest treat will be the winner. There are three flavors you can vote for: Birthday Cake, Red Velvet, and Strawberry Cheesecake.

While all three of these flavors sound pretty tasty, some of our writers have very strong opinions about which one should win. Here are their hot and cold takes on the possible flavors.

Jack Lukow — Birthday Cake

Since the Creamery hasn’t technically released any flavors, this really is more of a debate on the concepts behind the flavors. And in this category birthday cake has no real competitor.

There has probably been a time in everyone’s life when they walked into an ice cream shop, and thought, “I’ll be daring today.”

Choices ranged from pistachio, peanut brittle, maybe even something exotic like honey nut, with varying levels of success. In my 21-year span it’s fair to say there have been many flavors across this palette, from the disappointing top prospects, to the darkhorse underdogs. Birthday Cake was the latter of those flavors.

The concept of a naturally warm and fluffy treat, being superimposed into my creamy, frozen dairy dessert seemed unnatural. Even more so than pistachio or other odd flavors. But I gave it my best, and it returned the favor. To my surprise the flavor was closer to batter, and oh boy do I love batter.  Birthday cake to this day remains my favorite flavor, and I recommend everyone to support its claim to fame. It deserves needs this vote. Every vote. Your vote.

Birthday Cake wasn’t just good one time at that one ice cream shop, instead it has consistently impressed me with its deliciousness. The core of this argument is that this flavor has never disappointed, something the opposing cake based flavors can’t hold a candle to.

The flavors Red Velvet and Strawberry Cheesecake are a risk that has lead to disappointment before. Red Velvet lacks any distinguishable characteristics to make it a great, and Strawberry Cheesecake is such an indescribably complicated flavor that putting it in cake form is a triumph to mankind enough, let alone ice cream.

Without being able to taste test these flavors this is really the only merit these flavors can have. Birthday Cake is a guaranteed home run, the others, not so much.

Alex Calderaro — Red Velvet

The Creamery is known for its near-perfect execution of classic flavors like Bittersweet Mint and Cookie Dough. But it’s lacking in unique choices for the adventurous sweet tooth. Red Velvet will add youth and flare to the Creamery’s menu, as it builds on the already crazy fandom for this dessert.

For three years, I scooped ice cream during the summer and watched countless “fad flavors” come in, only to be retired the next year. However, Red Velvet was one of the few newcomers that stuck around due to its overwhelming popularity. People loved seeing a new twist on the already popular dessert.

Moreover, Red Velvet is the perfect ice cream choice for someone who struggles with the Creamery’s “No Mixing Flavors” rule. Combining cocoa, vanilla, and a sweet cream cheese icing, the flavor offers an exciting medley of tastes for the indecisive.

The flavor gets even better with the inevitable addition of Penn State Bakery’s Red Velvet cake to the ice cream base. Plus, the cake pieces evoke the same sort of treasure hunt you go through when eating cookie dough ice cream. Overall, it’s just a very rewarding dining experience.

Deemed a flavor for the romantics, the Berkey Creamery’s Red Velvet ice cream could add a layer of love to first dates, late night ice cream runs, and on-campus proposals. It doesn’t get more #sostate than that. In my mind, this is a dessert with a future. Imagine all of the Penn State brides who would kill for a Berkey Creamery Red Velvet ice cream cake on their special day.

For the adventurous, the mixers, and the brides-to-be, Red Velvet is the clear choice.

Megan Fleming — Strawberry Cheesecake 

I’ll keep my argument short and sweet, because at the end of the day y0u should vote with your gut (quite literally, in this case).

Admittedly, if I could pick one dessert in the world it wouldn’t be Strawberry Cheesecake, or any cheesecake for that matter. But don’t let the word “cheesecake” scare you if you’re not a fan of the decadent dessert in it’s cake form.

When I have a hankering for ice cream, a pint of Ben & Jerry’s Strawberry Cheesecake is the one of the only flavors that will do the trick. And since Ben & Jerry got their ice cream making start in Happy Valley, I can only imagine how good the Creamery’s version of Strawberry Cheesecake will taste. If you haven’t tried Ben & Jerry’s Strawberry Cheesecake, I suggest you stop what your doing and go grab yourself some for a taste of what could be stocked in the Creamery.

If you’re not in the mood to drop everything to go to the grocery store to try Strawberry Cheesecake, take my word for it. There’s a medley of unbeatable flavors between the sweet cake, fresh strawberries, and savory graham cracker. It’s got all the makings of a masterpiece and it’s sure to be a hit year round at the Creamery.

Although technically we just decided to list the flavors in alphabetical order, it’s no coincidence we saved the best for last. And Strawberry Cheesecake has something the other two flavors lack: there’s fruit in it, so it’s healthy. Case closed.

Don’t forget to cast your vote for the Creamery’s newest flavor on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram! Just post or tweet #Creamery150 with your choice. Voting ends June 7.